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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27002959">Let it all Burn</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_Of_Insanity101/pseuds/Author_Of_Insanity101'>Author_Of_Insanity101</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Invader Zim</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, M/M, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:55:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,848</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27002959</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_Of_Insanity101/pseuds/Author_Of_Insanity101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Membrane sent Dib away, hoping to replace him with a new Dib. Zim won't allow it and decides to take care of his nemesis, since no one else can. Dib is just done.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Let it all Burn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is dark, I'm not gonna lie. Triggers for depression and all that.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Dib was missing.</p>
<p>It was all Zim could think of as he glared at the empty desk in front of him where his large headed enemy always sat. It had been nearly two weeks since their last battle, and he had not shown up at the Skool since then. Zim knew he hasn’t hurt the squishy human-smeet that badly, not wanting to rob himself of perhaps the only form of entertainment on this worthless mud ball of a planet. Was Dib hiding from him? Had he given up as he had done all those years ago to study “Real Science” with his Dad-master?</p>
<p>Remembering that day always made Zim’s squeedlyspooch clench. Zim hated knowing his nemesis was ignoring him, pretending he didn’t exist. It didn’t make any sense, and even now he didn’t understand why the Dib-stink’s lack of attention infuriated him so. With how often Dib foiled his plans, (because it was always the Dib’s fault, never Zim’s! Zim was perfect!) Having him out of the way should have been seen as a blessing, but it wasn’t.</p>
<p>Anger seething inside of him, the vile Irken didn’t even bother going to his next class. The “High Skool” wasn’t that much different from the “Median Skool” and the “Elementary Skool”, nothing but useless facts that Zim’s computer had provided long before the smelly adult humans had decided to teach it. Besides, finding his nemesis and making him pay for his continued absence took precedence.</p>
<p>Zim marched down the street, already imagining all of the horrible, painful tests he was going to inflict upon the Dib once he got his claws on him. He could already hear Dib begging for mercy, squirming as Zim’s claws tore him apart, eliciting shrill screams as Zim claimed his rightful property. It made his zippered teeth grin in anticipation as he went and banged on the door of the Membrane household.</p>
<p>“Open up!” he demanded, continuing his relentless assault on the door. “Open up for Zim!!”</p>
<p>The door clicked open, revealing Professor Membrane, Dib’s dad-master. Zim straightened up at the sight of the larger adult, remembering all too well how powerful the man’s mechanical arms had been. However, the adult didn’t seemed at all threatening as he looked down at Zim, his face unreadable behind his work goggles and high collar.</p>
<p>“Ah, you’re Dib’s little foreign friend,” the Professor recalled. “I must say, this is quite a surprise.”</p>
<p>“I’m looking for the Dib-Stink,” Zim explained. “Turn him over to me, or suffer the wrath of Zim!!”</p>
<p>The adult was completely unphased by Zim’s demands, just sighing and shaking his head.</p>
<p>“I’m terribly sorry, but my son won’t be seeing anyone anytime soon.”</p>
<p>“Why?!” Zim demanded. “Why are you keeping the Dib from Zim?!”</p>
<p>“Well, as you know, my son has been quite delusional all his life, believing in things like manbearpig, nosferatus, and aliens. I had hoped that once he matured, he would come to realize they were nothing but silly fantasies, but he insists they’re real. So, for his own sake, I had him sent to the Crazy House for Boys.”</p>
<p>Zim blinked, his Pak clicking slightly as he tried to process what the adult before him had just said.</p>
<p>“Say what now?”</p>
<p>“Dib’s in the Crazy House for Boys. I fear with the strength of his delusions, he is simply unfit to be in normal society. But! I’ll be done with the new Dib in just another week.”</p>
<p>That really sent Zim’s Pak into overdrive.</p>
<p>“New… Dib?” he repeated, wondering if his wig was crushing his antennae to the point his hearing was compromised.</p>
<p>Rather than answer, the Professor took Zim by the arm, pulling him inside. Zim yelped in a manner that was undignified for an Invader, but he didn’t have time to think about it before he was led past the living room and towards the basement lab of the Membrane house. Once inside, Zim was placed in front of a culture tank containing a Dib that looked just like his 12 year old self.</p>
<p>“DIB?!” Zim exclaimed, turning to the Professor. “What is the meaning of this?! Why have you shrunken the Dib?!”</p>
<p>“I didn’t shrink him. This is a clone, one made from some of Dib’s blood and hair. He was already a clone to begin with, so making a new one was quite easy.”</p>
<p>“The Dib? A clone?! EXPLAIN, PATHETIC HUMAN WORM!!”</p>
<p>“I created Dib in the hope of creating a heir to take over for me when he became of age. Unfortunately, something went wrong, and he’s been obsessed with the paranormal and other unscientific nonsense. I tried creating him a sibling to deter him from these pointless endeavors, but even that failed. That’s why this time, I’m ensuring a subliminal education that will instill a true love of science, and when he is complete, I will finally have the perfect son.”</p>
<p>Zim stared at the Not-Dib in the culture tank, then at the dad-master in disbelief. Replace Dib? It was unthinkable! He needed the Dib! The REAL Dib!</p>
<p>“What of the real Dib-stink?” he questioned, unsure if he actually wanted to know the answer.</p>
<p>“The Crazy House will see to it he’s properly taken care of, and my replacement will fit seamlessly into his life. It will take time to reintegrate him, as well as purge all record of his predecessor’s insanity, but in time, the world will forget all about-”</p>
<p>Zim’s Pak leg extended before he even had a chance to consider stopping it. The adult fell silent, cut off by a wet choking noise as the leg pierced through his chest and right through the vital organ Zim knew to be called “the heart”. He retracted the leg, the heavy thud of the adult’s body hitting the floor oddly satisfying. With one problem dealt with, Zim turned to the Not-Dib, scowling as he pulled his wig off and removed his contacts.</p>
<p>“You…” he snarled, “will NEVER be Dib!”</p>
<p>All four legs smashed through the glass, tearing into the lifeless clone body and ensuring that it would never ever live to call itself Dib. He continued ripping it apart, howling in rage as he turned his attention to the machine itself, blasting it to pieces. He didn’t stop until it was reduced to little more than scrap, his breathing labored and his Pak pinging him with warnings of emotional instability. He ignored them all, retracting his Pak legs and guns and replacing his disguise. He stepped across the dead body at his feet, then marched out of the house with grim determination.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Everything was too bright and fuzzy. It was hard to think, to move, to exist, and Dib wasn’t sure if he liked that or not. He rolled over as best he could, the tight restraints across his entire body making that incredibly difficult. He was locked in a straitjacket, his legs wrapped in belts to keep him from kicking as he had when he was first brought in. His glasses were gone, only adding to his helplessness, and his mind was so clouded that just the thought of trying to think was difficult.</p>
<p>He hadn’t left the padded cell they’d thrown him in, doctor’s coming in to inject him with medicine and force feed him food stuffs that made the cafeteria food taste like ambrosia. The stark whiteness of everything was beyond blinding, the fluorescent lights above him never turning off. His hair hung in a greasy lump in front of his face, but he didn’t care. He didn’t have the strength to care, or to do anything anymore.</p>
<p>He laid on the padded ground, waiting to drift off into the endless haze that was the closest he got to sleep. That’s when a dull roar reached his ears. Screaming followed the roar, as well as gunfire and a strange high-pitched squeal that seemed to ring with familiarity. Struggling to move, Dib scooched across his cell until he reached the wall, trying to worm himself into a sitting position. It was incredibly slow, and the loud noises were getting closer. Once he was finally sitting, the door to his cell was ripped open, and something stepped in.</p>
<p>The haze from all the drugs and from his lack of glasses made it impossible for Dib to tell what was going on. All he could see were two green blurs, one a bit smaller, and the other mixed with pink. The pink mixed blur was shouting or screaming at him, but Dib’s mind could not process the words. He looked blearily at the blur, bobbing precariously as he threatened to spill over. That’s when something sliced through his jacket, tearing through the straps and freeing his body completely. Strange black claws ripped the remnants of the restraints off of him, then something was shoved onto his face.</p>
<p>Arms weak from disuse, his hands trembled as he fumbled for whatever had been shoved onto his face. Even with his senses dulled, he could feel the wire frames of his glasses. The lenses were cracked and slightly bend from the force of the shove, but the world was beginning to clear slightly. Now, Dib was able to finally see who was in the cell with him, and he spoke for the first time since he was locked up.</p>
<p>“Zim…”</p>
<p>His mind was not ready to translate speech, so when Zim spoke to him, it all just came out as a garbled mess. Even so, there was no mistaking the metallic tentacle that emerged from the alien’s Pak, wrapping around Dib and pinning his arms to his side. He was lifted off of the ground, hanging in the metallic grip like a limp fish. Dib didn’t even bother trying to fight it, not caring in the slightest. Some small part of his mind not completely addled by drugs and exhaustion kept insisting he was in danger, but he was too far gone to care.</p>
<p>Whatever Zim planned to do with him, whatever evil, twisted scheme he came up with, at least his mind would eventually be clear enough to comprehend it. He would gladly accept any torture or test if it meant an end to the endless haze.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The humans had broken the Dib, the human meat-baby just hanging limply in his grip. Upon returning his strange eye-disks, which he had ripped from the grips of a now long-dead orderly, Zim had noticed a flicker of recognition as his own name slipped from the Dib’s lips. He was still alive, but that distant look made Zim feel sick. The Dib wasn’t even looking at him, the vile chemicals the humans had forced into his body reducing him to a useless puddle.</p>
<p>“These humans will all pay for taking Zim’s mortal enemy!” he swore, shaking his fist before turning to his faithful robotic companion, GIR, “GIR! Let us annihilate every last trace of this ‘Crazy House’! It will rue the day it dared to take the Dib-Stink from Zim!!”</p>
<p>GIR, dressed in his usual dog costume, let out a high pitched squeal before his eyes turned red and he launched himself at several of the human doctors. Normally, Zim would have laughed as GIR reduced them to squishy piles of shrieking human meat, but his attention was focused on the limp boy in his grasp.</p>
<p>The Dib wasn’t even trying to move, just handing there limply. Even when Zim gave him a shake, he barely stirred. It made Zim’s squeedlyspooch go hot with anger and worry. He had no doubts that superior Irken technology could reverse whatever had been done to the Dib-Stink, but what would happen after that? His dad-master was dead, and while Zim knew very little about earth laws, nor cared about them, he knew that the Dib would no doubt be sent away. He may even be sent to a new Crazy House, one Zim knew nothing about.</p>
<p>That was unacceptable! He would not have his human taken from him! He needed the Dib, and since it was clear no one would take care of him, then Zim would! He would keep the Dib safe, where no one else could hurt or break him. Yes, that sounded like a perfect plan. Keeping a tight grip on the Dib-Stink, Zim extended his Pak legs, spider walking out of the Crazy House for Boys.</p>
<p>“GIR! To the Voot Cruiser!”</p>
<p>“Yes sir!” GIR replied, happily scampering after Zim.</p>
<p>The two reached the Voot Cruiser, which was hovering just outside the ruined remains of the door. Gir quickly flopped in, getting situated in his special seat as he waited for Zim to buckle him in. Zim deposited the Dib into the back of the cruiser, the boy not even attempting to move upon being released. Zim strapped in GIR, then did the same for the Dib before turning his attention back to the Crazy House.</p>
<p>He flipped on all the weapons he had, then watched as they completely decimated the building that had broken his nemesis. He glared hatefully as it all came crashing down, leaving nothing more than a burning husk filled with the dead bodies of the pathetic humans inside. Satisfied, Zim stowed the weapons and flew off.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Dib lost consciousness at some point during his rescue/kidnapping. The darkness of the night sky had been a blessing for the drug-addled boy, so used to the endless brightness of the lights in his off-white padded cell. He vaguely remembered being deposited into the back of Zim’s ship, the cool metal digging into his skin, then the feeling of movement. However, that was when blackness had finally overtaken him.</p>
<p>When Dib finally began to stir, his head felt mildly clearer. His stomach was aching from lack of nourishment, and his throat was dry, but his arms and legs were free, and he was no longer in the Crazy House. He was clean too, the smell of Zim’s Irken grade decontamination sprays permeating off of his body and hair. Given how disgusting he had been after two weeks in the Crazy House, it was no surprise that germaphobic Zim had scrubbed him down. The fact Dib remembered none of it barely even phased him, the boy just grateful to be clean again.</p>
<p>Dib sat up slowly, adjusting his glasses so he could get a better look around. He was laid out on a simple cot in a clear holding cell. The familiar shades of dark pink and magenta surrounding him confirmed that he was indeed in Zim’s base, most likely in one of the many rooms that made up his underground lab. There was no visible door, but there was also a lack of a chute in the top, leading Dib to question how he’d gotten in.</p>
<p>His question were soon overwritten by several others that cropped up as he looked down at himself. First, he was no longer dressed in the scrubs the doctors had him in under the straight jacket. Instead, he was wearing a blue tank top-like shirt with long pants the exact same shade. There were Irken symbols on the lapel on the shirt, but he was still a bit too disoriented to translate. He was barefoot, but he had strange metal bands wrapped around both ankles, and his wrists. They were loose and thin, almost like bracelets, but were too small to slip off. A similar band was around his neck, forming a strange collar.</p>
<p>Dib felt like he should have been panicking. He felt like he should have been screaming, trying to get these strange things off of him, attempting to smash through his transparent prison. Instead, Dib just felt… numb. He wasn’t sure if the last of the drugs he was on had something to do with it, but he also didn’t care.</p>
<p>His father had kicked him out, sending him to the Crazy House with the intention of erasing him. Gaz had been there and had watched the doctors drag him off, but hadn’t even looked up from her Game Slave. Even if he somehow managed to escape from Zim’s prison, where would he go? If he went home, his father would just get rid of him again, and the Swollen Eyeball Network had banned him long ago.</p>
<p>A bitter laugh escaped from Dib as he flopped back onto the cot. Zim, the alien he’d been hunting for years now, the invader bent on destroying the Earth and making Dib’s life even more miserable than it already was, was the closest thing Dib had to a friend. More than that, Zim was all he had now, his last hope of not being alone.</p>
<p>Dib looked at the band on his wrist, his other hand tracing along the underside of his new collar. He knew Irkens were a very possessive race, so maybe the collar was some sort of claim being staked. Whether that meant he was a slave or a pet was anyone’s guess, but Dib didn’t care. That numbness had completely overtaken him, leaving him to just lay on the cot and wait for Zim to show himself.</p>
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